Darren Adam Heitner, Esq. is the Founder of HEITNER LEGAL, Founder/CEO of Dynasty Dealings, LLC, Professor of Sport Agency Management at Indiana University Bloomington, Co-Founder of Collegiate Sports Advisors (CSA) and Founder/Chief Editor of Sports Agent Blog, a leading niche industry publication. He is an attorney licensed to practice on the state and federal level, and focuses on sports, entertainment, and intellectual property litigation and transactional work.
Darren is the author of How to Play the Game: What Every Sports Attorney Needs to Know (published by the American Bar Association), Contributing Writer of An Athlete’s Guide to Agents, 5th Edition, and has authored many sports, entertainment and intellectual property-related Law Journal articles.
Darren has a Bachelors of Arts from the University of Florida and a Juris Doctor (J.D.) degree from the same institution.

What Do Professional Athletes Have To Gain From Participating In The London Olympics?

Sprinter Sanya Richards-Ross of the U.S. attends an USOC Athletics press conference on Day 3 of the London 2012 Olympic Games. (Image credit: Getty)

#WeDemandChange. It is a Twitter hashtag that has become immensely popular among athletes competing in the 2012 London Olympics. The main demand is that the International Olympics Committee’s (IOC) Rule 40 of the Olympic Charter be amended so that Olympic athletes are permitted to promote brands of their choosing and receive compensation for same. After all, sponsors not approved by the IOC and/or an athlete’s national governing body (i.e. the United States Olympic Committee) are dissuaded from partnering with athletes who are unable to promote their products and/or services when those athletes are most marketable – immediately preceding, during, and immediate after the Olympic Games. The full text of Rule 40 is as follows:

“Except as permitted by the IOC Executive Board, no competitor, coach, trainer or official who participates in the Olympic Games may allow his person, name, picture or sports performances to be used for advertising purposes during the Olympic Games.”

No one has been a stronger advocate in the #WeDemandChange movement than U.S. track & field star Sanya Richards-Ross. She made her demand known on July 20, when she tweeted, “With $6 billion exchanging hands during the Olympics why do the athletes compete for free?!? #QuestionsThatNeedAnswers #WeDemandChange”. Two days ago, she continued her public display of indignation with the tweet, “I am honored to be an Olympian, but #WeDemandChange2012 #Rule40″.

As I wrote last week on Sports Agent Blog, the intention of Rule 40 is to attempt to alleviate sponsor concerns of ambush marketing, destroying the full value that official sponsors hope to gain from paying the large price for that status. But many athletes, none of whom receive direct compensation from the IOC for participating in the Olympics, feel as though they are getting the short end of the stick; they are not paid simply for their performance in the Games (however, many countries do provide prize money to medalists) and they are also prohibited from using their likeness as they see fit.

Andre Mika is an Emmy Award Winner for his work at the 2004 Athens Olympics, former National Hockey League Senior Vice President of Creative, and is the Executive Vice President of TBA Global, a leading engagement marketing agency. He says that professional athletes do not have a lot to gain from participating in the Olympics other than for personal achievement and patriotism purposes, and that in some cases they can do a lot of harm to their personal brands by not winning. ”[The Olympics] is for amateurs to succeed to make the next step and become a bigger brand even though that brand will never compare to being a professional NBA or NHL player,” explained Mika. He believes that at some point the Olympics will have much less involvement by professionals. ”There is nothing that LeBron James can gain from participating in these Olympics from a marketing standpoint other than giving a gold medal to his mom, but if Team USA loses the gold medal game, it’s another chink in the armor.”

Rule 40 aside, Mika believes that professional athletes have very little to gain from participating in the London Olympics. The existence of Rule 40 will further disincentivize professionals from participating in the future. As Mika noted, “all athletes now have the ability to create their own mass media around them from a promotional standpoint. They can broadcast their own messages and have their own following without relying on the traditional media to do it.” Sanya Richards-Ross clearly understands the power she wields solely from possession of a Twitter account. If the Olympics power brokers do not take note, professional athletes may be reluctant to compete for what is now a coveted spot in the Olympic Games.

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Pro athletes, especially if they are at an early stage of their career, can further enhance their brand. Perhaps erroneously so, there is still something perceived about the Olympics that’s pure…and maybe, for example, being an Olympic Gold Medalist takes some of the edge off a guy like Russell Westbrook who doesn’t always come off the best.